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Forgetting Adultery

cooper

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It has been many years (to my knowledge) since my wife committed adultery; but, not a day goes by that I don't relive the pain and shame of it all; not a day goes by that I don't wonder who she's talking to or what she's doing; I cannot have sex with her without relying on fantasy so as not to conject her being with another man. I am a Christian. I have forgiven her. I have tried my darndest to move beyond the hurt without success. I have given marital counselling, individual pastoral counselling, and individual emotional counselling every opportunity to effect change in me. Now, I am moving towards divorce to finally end the daily reminder of such betrayal. I know God can do immeasurably more than I can imagine but it appears that He will have to do it beyond this marriage.

Any suggestions? It's the 11th hour and counting.
 

IceCrystalH2O

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What kind of things remind you of what she did?

In the beginning of my marriage my husband was lying to me to see his ex, for me that was the most tragic thing that could happen to me..I had just gotten married and already I have to worry about what he is doing and if he really is where he claims to be. One thing that helped me was for him to get rid of his cell phone, then anytime he was away I knew he wasn't on the phone with her. I tried to think of anything that would "trigger" a thought and for a while change it. I couldn't even sleep in our bed, we slept out on the couch bed for several months. I would suggest getting rid of anything that reminds you of that betrayal (anything but your wife) and try to make new memories with her. It will take alot of time, it did for me, but if you both are committed to the marriage then you should be able to work through this. A set of books you might want to read are "for better or for best" and " if only he knew" by Gary Smalley. I have both of those books and they are EXCELLENT! (one is for the wife to read and one is for the husband to read)

Other then that, just pray about it. I will be praying for you as you decide what to do.
 
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cooper

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No, I don't trust her. Yes, I've prayed (and prayed and prayed and.......). And, now I am in the process of finally getting healed from all of this. Yes, I would have preferred to have never found out. It would have been her cross to bear only --- not mine. Unfortunately, the reminders are all of the evidences of the time (too graphic to be shared in this forum). She doesn't have to do anything to remind me but just be. When I wake up and see her; when I go to sleep and see her; whenever I see her I see a harlot who betrayed me and in letters to her lover claimed how she wished I were dead; how he was such a wonderful lover; and what a soulmate he was. She is committed to the marriage now. I'm not. Sorry, too little too late.
 
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Svt4Him

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So what exactly are you looking for here? You say it's the 11th hour, now it's already past midnight. If you would like to divorce your wife, you have that right. But if you toy with the idea that you don't have the right not to forgive her, Jesus was pretty specific in saying God has forgiven you much, you too must forgive. And you may post you've forgiven her, but when you look and see a 'harlot who betrayed' you, you haven't. You may never forget, but you have to forgive. Can you imagine what it will be like in heaven if every time Jesus looked at you He thought 'Ya, I know I laid down my life and gave all for you, but every time I see you I can't help but think you're a {insert most recent sins}, but I've forgiven you'.
 
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cooper

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Svt4Him, I know in my heart that I have forgiven her and I know in accordance with God's word I have every right to divorce her; and, you are 100% correct wrt God's word and freedom thru His son's death on the cross. But, I cannot seem to forget; and not being able to forget leaves me two ways: feeling sorry for her (ironic I know) and feeling dirty/betrayed. And I need facts, not feelings, to base my determinations on. I'm looking for Godly wisdom and other's life experiences so as to not base my decisions on my own understanding.
 
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Svt4Him

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Feeling dirty/betrayed is an issue of forgiveness. You may have said your forgive, but if it's still a painful issue that makes you feel sick when you think about it, then forgiveness is still in the works. I may not be able to convince you of it, but once forgiveness comes, true forgiveness, you may not forget, but it doesn't hurt to remember. This I speak from personal experience, as well as experience dealing with people who have been victims of abuses. My sister was abused by my step-father, and she said the same things you are. She said she forgave, but if she ever saw him, she'd kill him. She said she forgave, but he was a {insert mean word here}. Then one day she did forgive, and now wants to take him out and say she's ok now, and she wants to tell him she forgives him.

When you look at your wife, you have to ask yourself, if you were to die today, who would cry at your funeral? These are the people who love you. And 20 years from now, can you see yourself with your wife? If not, then you have the option to divorce. But also know that I never believe anyone is 100% at fault in a relationship, so you have to determine what you did wrong before entering another relationship, and that's not an easy thing to do. We all have self-serving bias, so I suggest talking to someone and asking for an honest opinion, but someone who knows you and you respect.

I will also say that because I didn't truly forgive my wife, even though I said I did, I ended up doing some things that almost killed my wife and I. On the outside I said I forgave, because that's the 'Christian' thing to do, but on the inside I wanted to hurt her. I would look at my wife and actually picture punching her, but I'd say I forgave. Now I can see that I was deceiving myself, because I wanted to display that I was a 'Christian man'. It was only an act of God that true forgiveness came, due to the fact that I was willing to submit to God, and my wife was as well. I will now testify that God is able to heal that pain, and give you much more than you can imagine. But both must be willing to change, as one willing for another to change isn't enough. At the same time, the decision to stay or go must be made, and once it's made, stick with it. You leave a back door open for the devil when you think you are staying for her, but you may change your mind. Not only that, but there is no opportunity for trust to grow like that, and your wife will not feel secure in a marriage, and therefore you would not be fulfilling your duty to love her as Christ loved the church. If you leave, realize you have that right, but don't stay for a while for whatever reason, when in your heart you're already gone, that is using your wife.

Again, I know it's not a nice thing to go through, but we must always abide by kingdom principles in all situations. If you do not divorce, you have to love her like Christ loved the church. If you do, then you still must forgive, and are free to move on.
 
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Svt4Him

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Any time. I will also say that I'm glad to have gone through it, but if I had to do it again I'd rather be dead. It was the hardest thing in the world to live through, and when I write this, I almost cry. Not because I have bad feelings for my wife, I don't, but because going through trials like this change you. I will no longer sing about the refining fire of God, because fire burns, and it hurts. But what comes through it usually better, and I would hope to never be in the same spot again.
 
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Svt4Him

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Yitzchak said:
This is the woman that you fell in love with and promised to love forever. You should soften your heart towards her and begin to focus more on what her needs are in all of this.

Although I agree with the idea here, one can't overlook the fact that this actually takes a guys heart and blows it to little bits. Part of it is then figuring out how to put those pieces together again, before it can be softened.
 
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Living Stone

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I dont think that still feeling hurt means we havent forgiven.
Forgiving and forgetting are rarely the same thing with us mortal men.

I hold no grudges against my ex for what she did.
Im happy as can be that she found someone who she is much happier with than she was with me.

But I can say that if we had not divorced, that I dont think the hurt from what she did would be gone anytime soon.

Sorry, but Im a man, not a god who can just cast memories into the sea of forgetfulness.
I can choose to tell her all is forgiven and I hope that she has a wonderful life now tho.

As for the OP, have you tried to maybe renew your vows or something? :)
I know its silly sounding, but it occured to me to do that with my ex if we stayed together to make things new.....a fresh start, if you will :)
 
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ub4me

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Another question would be, do you think if you divorced and met someone else that you would ever trust again completely, just think this is someone you thought you knew so well, and then...
What I am trying to say is, would you want to start all over again, with someone new, realizing that people just do stupid things, and that you could possibly go through this again with someone else, or, would you rather just keep working through this, with someone you already have a bond with, I mean you must be doing better, at least you are having sex right? So part of your heart is already mending, the mind is the one we must battle against. Some things just take time, but I would really consider where your trust level would be, even if you were with someone new.
:pray:
Praying for you....
 
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erin74

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George Smedes wrote a book called "Forgive and Forget" (not actually advocating forgetting. In it he described two types of 'hate'. Active hate where you wish the other party hurts of their own, and passive hate where you are unable to wish them well. Is it possible that you have moved from one hate to the other, but not actually dealt with the hate entirely. His thinking was that while you still have this hate you have not forgiven. I found it a helpful book when dealing with forgiving my dad. I haven't experienced what you are experiencing, and can't imagine how you feel. I could imagine that it is something that is going to take a long time to get over though, and a long time to forgive.

I pray that your forgiveness may be complete.
 
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